North Korea says U.S. has to roll back 'hostile policy' before talks

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photo of North Korean flag flying on a mast at the Permanent
Mission of North Korea in GenevaThomson Reuters

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - North Korea's deputy U.N. envoy said
on Friday that the United States needed to roll back its "hostile
policy" toward the country before there could be talks between
the pair.

"As everybody knows, the Americans have gestured (toward)
dialogue," North Korea's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Kim In Ryong told
reporters on Friday. "But what is important is not words, but
actions."

"The rolling back of the hostile policy toward DPRK is the
prerequisite for solving all the problems in the Korean
Peninsula," he said. "Therefore, the urgent issue to be settled
on Korean Peninsula is to put a definite end to the U.S. hostile
policy toward DPRK, the root cause of all problems."

North Korea, also known as the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea (DPRK), has vowed to develop a missile mounted with a
nuclear warhead that can strike the mainland United States,
saying the program is necessary to counter U.S. aggression.

U.S. President Donald Trump warned in an interview with Reuters
in late April that a "major, major conflict" with the North was
possible, but he said he would prefer a diplomatic outcome to the
dispute over its nuclear and missile programs.

Trump later said he would be "honored" to meet the North's
leader, Kim Jong Un, under the right conditions. A U.S. State
Department spokesman said the United States remains open to talks
with North Korea but the country would have to "cease all its
illegal activities and aggressive behavior in the region."

New South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who took office last
week, campaigned on a more moderate approach toward the North but
he has said it must change its attitude of insisting on arms
development before dialogue can be possible.

The U.N. Security Council first imposed sanctions on North Korea
in 2006 and has strengthened the measures in response to the
country's five nuclear tests and two long-range rocket launches.
Pyongyang is threatening a sixth nuclear test.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

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